Spring bed-bottom



(No` Model.)

STRING ABBD- BOTTOM. .No. 357,224,

PaenteaTeb. a, 1887.

N" UNITED @STATES PATENT OFFICE,

THOMAS E. OBRIEN, CHICAGQYILLINOIS.

SPRING BED-BOTTOM.

SPECEFICA'ILION forming part of Letters Patent No. 357,224, datedFebruary 8. 1887.

Application filed September-7, 1886. serial No. 912,904. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom it may concern: l

Be it known that I, THoMAs E. OBnlnN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State yof Illinois, haveinvented a certain new and useful l Improvement in Spring Bed-Bottoms;and I, hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the same.

My improvement relates to the class of bedbot-torns, or spring beds ormattresses,77 as they are also called, in which a frame, usuallyextensible at its ends, or only at one end, has stretched over it asheet of, woven wire or other elastic or yielding material, supportedunderneath, and at the same time having its springy quality increased byspiral springs, i'nterlocked by 'means of suitably-arranged links, andheld apart and sustained in position by additional links or wire rodsconnecting the outer lateral rows to the side rails of the frame and theend rows to the end rails of the same. In bed-bottoms of the generalconstruction thus set forth a brace is provided to extend transverselyand centrally across the` frame, to prevent inward bending or warping ofthe side rails, which would otherwise necessarily ensue as a consequenceof the strain'exerted by the use ofthe device through the connection ofthe lsprings with the side rails.

It is rny object to provide a construction of spring bed-bottom wherebythe central brace referred to may be dispensed with without producingwarping ofthe side rails and to the advantage of the bed-bottom,inasmuch as it augmente its springy quality and, when the device isadjustable in the manner stated, pro! duces greater and more eventension of the springs vin resetting them by extending the frame whenthe bed is rendered sagging with use.

My invention con *,'sts in the construction hereinafter set forth andclaimed.

In the drawings, Figure l is a perspective View of the under side of anadjustable spring bed-bottom provided with my improvement, and Fig. 2 alongitudinal sectional view of the same.

A is the frame, comprising the side rails, r,

and the usual end-rail devices, q, or end connections, for holding thestretched woven-wire sheet B at oppositeven'ds, the usual adjustingmeans, in the form of set-screws turned by a v wrench applied to theirheads, being provided at opposite ends of either or both end rails, topermit their adjustment toward or from each other in relaxing orstretching the wire sheet B.

The adjusting means referred to are not shown in detail in `thedrawings, nor accurately herein described, for the reason that they aretoo common in connections'like the present to require specificillustration and description.

C C are the springs, spiral in form, and preferabl y conical, as shown,held with their flaring ends against and stayed by the under snrfaee ofthe woven-wire sheet B and apart by wire rods p, fastened at theirextremities into the end rails, and extending thence toward the adjacenttransverse rows of springs C, where they'are provided with bifurcatedlinks 0j which hook each into two springs at their lower tapered ends,the springs between the extreme transverse rows bern g connected cross-'.Wise at their lower tapered ends by links or hooks n.

`Instead vof connecting the lateral rows of springs C to the side rails,r, directly -by links or hooks fastened to the rails, like the rods p tothe end rails, q, or end connections, and hooked into the tapered endsof the springs, as hitherto practiced, thereby rendering a centraltransverse brace necessary to prevent warping of the side rails, Iconnect theselateral springs attheir tapered ends loosely to a rod orstrip, D, at opposite sides of the frame, preferably by passing the rodor strip th rough the annular extremities of the springs; or, in otherwords, Stringing the annular extremities of the springs upon it, thoughthey may be otherwise connected therewith, and secure the rods or stripsat their extremities on kopposite sides of the frame to the inner sidesof the side rails toward their opposite ends. By this conf. structionthe strain upon the bed by its'use is not exerted at and about thecenters of the side rails, but through-the rods or strips D, owing totheir connection to the side rails near the extremities of the latter,which arrange` ment avoids warping of the side rails without requiring atransverse brace for the purpose, and obviously augments the springquality of the bed-bottom.

If the rods or strips D are fastened to th side rails in the mannerdescribed, or to the IOO under sides of the latter, if preferred, whichamounts to the same thing, extension of the frame'in the common mannerdoes not distort the springs connected to the rods or strips, as wouldbe the tendency if the springs were fastened, as hitherto, by hooks orlinks directly to the side rails, but being strung 7 upon the rod orstrip, or fastened thereto by a suitable loop 0r hook connection, theyhave sufficient sliding motion or play to adjust themselves with thestretching of the frame and sheet B without distortion.

I am aware that it is not new to provide a frame having side rails andadjustable end rails and a central cross-bar supporting the coiledsprings over which is stretched woven fabric, the opposite ends ofwhich, as also of longitudinal springs supporting the central cross-bar,are fastened between the two pieces of the respective end rails, wherebythe tension of the fabric and longitudinal springs can be increased ordecreased at will; and also that a bedbottonl is not new having a mainframe provided with metal straps rigidly connected with the under sideof the same to support a secondary frame sustaining the springs, overwhich the woven fabric is stretched by having its ends connected withbrackets pivoted to the end sides of the main frame, the connee tion ofthe fabric and brackets being effected through t-he medium of transverseadjustable bars and adjacent strips, between which and the said bars theends of the fabric are fitted and clamped. Both ofthe foregoing construetions are shown and described in patents already granted.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a spring bed-bottom, the combination of the frame A, comprisingside rails, r, and end connections,g, adjustable toward and from eachother, springs C, connected at their lower tapered ends by links n andsuspended at the transverse end rows from the adjacent end connectionsof the frame and stayed at their upper ends, and rods D,secured at theiropposite eX- tremities near the ends of the side rails and extendinglengthwise of the same, and having connected with them the adjacent siderows of springs C at the lower ends of the same, sub stantially as andfor the purpose set forth.

2. In a spring bed-bottom, the combination of the frame A, comprisingside rails, r, and end rails, q, adjustable toward and from each other,woven fabric B,secured at opposite extremities to the end rails, springsC below the fabric B, connected at their lower tapered ends by links nand suspended at the transverse end rows from the adjacent end rails ofthe frame, with their flaring ends against the uuder surface ofthefabric B, and rods D,secured at their opposite extremities near the endsof the side rails to extend lengthwise of the same and having looselyconnected with them the adjacent side rows of springs C at the taperedends of the same, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

THOMAS E. GBRIEN.

In presence of- J. NV. DYRENFORTH,

HUDSON.

